I know, I know, I missed it again! This school year is already kicking my butt (literally, I fell down the stairs at school today like a ding-dong!) so I just didn’t have the strength Tuesday or Wednesday when I got home to update and do my TTT post even though I already had it rough drafted out on notebook paper. So, here it is, two days late, my TTT for the week of 814/12:

Romances that I believe would survive this crazy real world we live in:

10. Alice and Charlie from American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld.

image from socionix.com

I was a big fan of the former first lady at one time. She reminded me a lot of myself. I guess I still am a fan, somewhat. I don’t care at all for her husband. I did care a great deal for this book though. It’s a fictionalized account of the relationship that blossomed between Laura and George, including all the gory details of a car crash caused by Mrs. Bush herself as a teenager. Having loved Sittenfeld’s first novel, Prep, I bought this one with the same expectations. However, this is a very different breed of book than Prep, though I did end up enjoying both. I do think that Charlie (George) and Alice (Laura) would have made it it reality, because..well… they did!

9. Jacob Black and Bella Swan from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

image from fanpop.com

I choose Jacob over Edward because I am a huge member of Team Jacob (I’m wearing my Quileute Tribe shirt right now) but also because I believe that they would have ended up together in reality. After Edward hit the road, Jack in New Moon and Bella and Jacob became closer, I really believe that they would have stayed together in reality. Being abandoned and dumped the way Bella was, I just can’t believe she’d go back to him. Oh, well, at least Jake got a happy ending, too.

8. Marlena and Jacob from Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

image from wwhan12.wordpress.com

If you fall in love over any animal, especially an elephant, it’s just gonna last forevs.

7. Elinor and Edward from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Maaaaannnnn, I wanted these two together the whole darn book. One was so shy and proper and the other was so bent on honoring his promises that they were willing to be apart if needed. Thank goodness it wasn’t needed and they got to be together in the end!

6. Gilbert and Anne from Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery

image from fanpop.com

This movie was on television the other night and I got caught up in it again. It was the early one, where Anne moves to Green Gables and not the later one where she and Gilbert end up happily ever after, but it did get me in the frame of mind of how these two were so meant for each other and that’s why I just had to include them on this list, because honestly they would so have made it in reality!

5. Allie and Noah from The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

image from romanceeternal.org

Sweetest couple ever. And he wrote their story down. And then he read it to her. And then they died together. And then I cried.

4. Jamie and Claire from The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

image from outlandishobservations.blogspot.com

Even though this whole series is so totally unbelievable with the whole time travel thing and all, I still deeply believe that the love between Claire and Jamie would have lasted and would have survived whether in ye olden Scotland or in new modern England (or America, or Canada, or wherever in the world they find themselves).

3. Hermione and Ron from The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

image from fanpop.com

Upon my first reading of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone I knew that these two were meant fror each other.

2. Josephine March and Professor Friedrich Baher from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

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OF COURSE I would have one of the couples from Little Women on here and OF COURSE it would be my most favoritest gal Jo and her hunka hunka burnin’ love Prof. Baher! When I made my rough draft the other night, I originally had Laurie down as the other half of Jo’s forever heart, but then I started thinking about childhood friends and how they really rarely ever work out romantically in the end. Jo had to grow up and go out in the world and get a job and write her books and learn some more and THEN she could settle down and who better to do it with than Friedrich! This man could help her open her school and publish her books! I truly believe that they would have made it in the real world based on their relationship of mutual honesty and respect.

That’s right, there are only 9 couples on the list because as hard as I racked my noggin, I just couldn’t think of another couple to add on and I didn’t want to get sloppy by just picking some random couple (like Rhett and Scarlett. I honestly do not think that those two would have made it in the real world. Tomorrow may be another day, doll, but I think he’s gonna tell you to shove it again.) so I’m leaving it at 9. Who do you think I left off the list? Who do you think should have been left off the list?

The newspapers says, says, say it’s true it’s true… and we can break through, though torn in two, we can be one -U2

Welcome to 2012! To start off the year, I had considered doing a post on my pick for my 2011 book of the year which I selected as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I am not going to do another post on this book as I have done one previously and I direct you to it here. I should mention that I do realize that this book was technically published in early 2010 and so it technically should have been my 2010 pick for best book, but it was my pick for the best book that I READ in 2011. I just spent a good 15 minutes browsing the books that were published in 2011 and I honestly only have read one on the list (The Night Strangers) and I am not about to name it my book of 2011. Instead, I will let you know which book of 2011 I am most excited to read: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. This book was on every “best of 2011” list I browsed! I want to read more by her! I have only so far read The Bel Canto for a class in college and I loved it. Why the hell haven’t I read more of her? Alas! A 2012 resolution!

As noted in my last post, my reading challenge for 2011 was to read 61 books. As it turns out, I read 63! Huzzah! This year I have set my goal at only 26 books. Why such a low number? I want to discover new authors this year and I want to read the books that aren’t just the ones on the bestsellers list. There are 26 letters in the alphabet and so I want to go down the alphabet and select a book by an author whos first or last name begins with the letter I’m on. For instance, “A” is the first letter of the alphabet and so my first book in the reading challenge will be something like Oryx And Crake by Margaret Atwood or State of Wonder by Ann Patchett! I haven’t started either one yet because last weekend I started Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander Book 2). If you have been reading my blog along, you’ll know that I read Outlander this past summer and enjoyed it. The books are super long (Dragonfly… is 752 pages!) so it does take some time and patience to read the books. I have 365 days to read 26 books so I belive that I am safe! I will try to update for each letter and let you know of any great new authors I discover.

To end this post, I want to share some good and exciting news with you. This past week I started the application process to return to school to obtain my second Master’s Degree. I previously received a MLIS in Library and Information Science and now I am hoping to work towards a Master’s of Art in English Literature. I am super excited about this. I can’t wait to get back into a college classroom where we’re all discussing books and ideas and authors and meaning and simile and metaphors and history!! I am practically giddy with the anticipation. If you’re out there reading this, send me some good vibes so I’ll be accepted to the program! I can’t wait to share what we read and discuss in class with you all!